This invention relates to a method of indicating traffic delays in a navigation system for planning a route of a vehicle, the method comprising receiving traffic information comprising position information of each one of a number of delay incidents, determining a position of the vehicle on a planned route and communicating information concerning the delay incidents to a user.
This invention further relates to a computer program product and a navigation system for performing the method of indicating traffic delays.
Nowadays, many motorists use in-car navigation systems for planning routes. Using digital maps and location information of the user, e.g. based on GPS signals received by a GPS receiver, navigation systems calculate the shortest, fastest or otherwise optimal route to a destination. One of the problems with routes planned by navigation systems is that traffic jams, road work and other delay incidents may drastically increase the time needed for reaching the destination. Some navigation systems, e.g. provided by TomTom (www.tomtom.com), are able to receive traffic information concerning the planned route and adapt the planned route in such a way that large delays are avoided. E.g., icons indicating delay incidents are shown on a map. A user may use the user interface of the navigation system to obtain further information about the delay incidents, such as the positions of the beginning or end of the delay incident, an expected delay time caused by the delay incident or a cause of the delay incident. Adaptations to the planned route may be applied automatically, after approval by the user or upon a specific user request.
It is a problem of the known traffic information services that icons on a map are only visible when the location of the corresponding delay incident is on-screen. Typically, this is only the case when the user approaches the delay incident. Relevant delay incidents that are further away may be invisible for the user. When the icon becomes visible, it may be too late to change the route and avoid the delay.